Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION
WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 67 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,854,370 to it, the largest being THE MORRIS AND GWENDOLYN CAFRITZ FOUNDATION ($1,125,000). 40 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.5M
- Funders on record
- 67
- Grants received
- $5.9M
- Net assets
- $1.1M
What Washington Area Women's Foundation does
Mission
To invest in the power of women and girls of color in the washington, dc area.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
The organization undertook three program services during the year that were not previously listed on form 990: black women leaders; other community investment; and maternal health. See new program descriptions below.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Education and outreach - the foundation invests in the power of women and girls of color in the washington, dc region. The foundation opens doors to opportunity through grantmaking and advocacy and awarded grants to over 225 community-based organizations in the region.
$530,730 spent37% of program spendingEarly care and education funders collaborative - through the funders' collaborative model, the foundation works to increase the quality and capacity of and access to early care and education in the washington, dc region. The collaborative is committed to and invests in projects that improve early childhood systems and infrastructure; ensure families have access to early education programs; and help early childhood educators to effectively meet the needs of all children.
$396,191 spentof which $300,000 as grants28% of program spendingYoung women's initiative - the foundation aims to reduce systemic and institutional barriers to success, and enhance opportunities for young women of color who are disproportionately impactedto reach their full potential. The foundation's strategy is to center the experiences and voices ofyoung women and girls to effective positive and lasting change in their communities.
$226,409 spentof which $128,000 as grants16% of program spendingBlack women leaders - the foundation has created a curated database of resources, which cover a wide spectrum of categories tailored specifically to the needs of black women.
$189,926 spent13% of program spendingOther community investment - the foundation supports a variety of organizations focused on women, girls, and people of color-led organizations through grantmaking, advocacy, and general operating support.
$59,462 spentof which $55,000 as grants4% of program spendingMaternal health - in response to the findings of a comprehensive 2024 birth equity landscape analysis, the foundation launched an inaugural maternal health and birth equity fund in 2025, designed to strengthen the birth workforce, address social determinants of health, improve maternal mental health, and reduce infant mortality through grantmaking to organizations committed to transforming maternal health outcomes across the d.c. Metropolitan region.
$22,495 spent2% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,425,213.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $1.9M to $1.2M (−38%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 12% · 2022 17%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (81% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Tamara Wilds Lawson
President & CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 19 funders to 21 funders, grant income rose $307k → $835k.
12 of 67 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $873k from 8 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Greater Washington Community Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 67 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
33% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 57% · 2018 37% · 2019 52% · 2020 27% · 2021 55% · 2022 35% · 2023 30% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
40% of WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION draws 60% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 14 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 7,349 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,349 human services nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
73%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION?
- WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 67 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,854,370 to it, the largest being THE MORRIS AND GWENDOLYN CAFRITZ FOUNDATION ($1,125,000). 40 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 67 organizations giving $5,854,370 in grants to WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION, 40 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION?
- THE MORRIS AND GWENDOLYN CAFRITZ FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,125,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 67 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing